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We're home! My dad is comfortable and after a nice dinner, the three of us are settling in to watch a movie and just relax. All is well- I'll write more tomorrow.

Saturday update

Today, my Dad's improvements were not as dramatic as in the past few days, but he was noticeably stronger. His voice is still more quiet and raspy than usual and he tires easily, but he is doing really well. He was finally able to have solid food today and enjoyed his dinner with more verve than hospital food probably deserves!  On a more serious note, my Dad is starting to process everything that happened and seemed to be a little more quiet and reflective today. We all have been told (repeatedly!) of the importance of creating a calm and peaceful environment for him to continue his recovery, so my Mom and I are trying to keep conversation light with a focus on resting and getting better.

My Dad comes home from the hospital tomorrow, and this will bring a new set of challenges for both my parents. Continued prayers for healing, patience, rest and calm would be most welcome.

Quick update

My Dad continues to recover really well- today he was walking around and looked great. He's still quite weak and needs lots of naps, but he was up on his feet, bright eyed, and looked great. He was also enough of his sarcastic self to make some very funny comments about his rather bland dinner!  He's still uncomfortable in his hospital bed and moves around rather gingerly (and slowly), but the progress made between yesterday was another huge leap forward. For me, the best part was hearing that he is in very little pain. I think today was the first day where this was the case.

He is scheduled to come home early, sometime on Sunday.  That will being a whole new phase of recovery. I know he is looking forward to having a quiet room to actually get some uninterrupted sleep and be back in familiar surroundings.  Keeping him out of his garden might pose a few challenges, but I'll save those for next week. 

The day after

8:15 PM  It's amazing the difference a day makes.

My Dad continues to recover well- this morning, he was disconnected from all of the tubes and monitors and taken off blood pressure medication (as he is maintaining a good rate on his own). By noon, he was transferred out of ICU into the cardiac observation unit. He is still very tired and extremely sore, and a little frustrated by his current limitations.  However, he is completely alert and communicative, his colour is great and he continues his recovery right on track.   He still needs lots of time to rest, along with a few gentle reminders not to talk up a storm and just "chill out" (this seems to be my job!).  Tomorrow, the plan is for him to be up on his feet for short periods of time. 

I forgot to mention yesterday that at the end of my dad's surgery when his heart was restarted, it started very strongly without need for assistance. The surgeon said this was an extremely positive sign, and we found this very encouraging.  

Also, while my Mom and I were waiting for my dad's surgery to complete, we started up conversation with another woman, also waiting for her husband. Within a few minutes, my mom and this lady realized they had worked together as telephone operators in North Battleford, 44 years ago. They spent an animated hour reminiscing and talking about former colleagues...  this hour was a great distraction for my Mom. I couldn't have planned a better coincidence if I had tried. 

My dad was resting a little more comfortably when we left the hospital this evening and I took advantage of this to get my Mom home to do the same. I'll update my dad's progress again tomorrow night when we get home from the hospital. 

 11:59PM

After a late evening visit to my dad, I'm really happy to report that is off the ventilator and breathing well on his own. He is still fairly sedated, although he was curious about the surgery, happy to see us and joked that when his nurse went on coffee break, she should bring coffee back for him as well!  It was encouraging to hear him joke. 

So, while he seems to be quite uncomfortable, recovery is moving along well.  Yesterday, my dad was pretty clear on his intent to be strong and healthy in time for his first grandchild's arrival in November (when Lyndon and Jennifer's first baby is due). So far, so good!  

I'll update things again tomorrow when we get home from the hospital. Thanks again for all of your good wishes. 

Good News

6:30PM  

My dad's surgery went well this morning.  He ended up having a quadruple bypass, and both the surgeon and anaesthesiologist confirmed that all went very well.  The surgeon, who is a classical music lover, said that the operation was brought to us courtesy of the Bach Double Violin concerto in D minor and Saint-Saens' Bacchanale (from Samson and Delilah).  I think my dad will enjoy knowing this.  

We were actually in the corridor talking to the surgeon when my dad was wheeled by en route to the ICU.  He is still in the ICU, where they are slowly waking him up. By late afternoon, he opened his eyes and responded to voice commands but had a bit of trouble choking on the intubation tube.  At this point, he is still intubated but we understand that he should be breathing on his own later tonight. He looks a little worse for wear and does not seem happy to have a tube stuck down his throat, but such is to be expected.  I will admit- seeing one's parent (especially my invincible dad) on a ventilator and connected to countless tubes and monitors is a little shocking. However, we are told that all has gone really well and we are trusting this will continue. 

Pre operation update

My mom and I spent most of this afternoon and evening with my dad, and had a really great visit.  

On first glance, I was surprised how great and almost "normal" he was- his colour was great, his short term memory is nearly back to normal, and his jokes were worse than ever! It does not take long, however, to see that he is still in a significant amount of pain from the strong chest compressions that were needed to restart his heart (and that seem to have cracked a few ribs) and he is pretty weak.  However, his spirits are high and we all feel confident about the recovery plan the medical team has put together.  The care has really been excellent. 

My dad is scheduled for bypass surgery at 8am tomorrow morning to address what now looks like four blockages in his heart. The surgery is expected to last about four hours; I'll post an update when we get home from the hospital tomorrow night. 

There are some other concerns about my dad's heart rhythm (which has been irregular since his heart attack). A specialist in this area met with us today to share a plan to address this in coming months.  For now however, the first step is addressing the blockages and recovering from surgery.

My dad read through many of the emails that friends and family have sent over the past few days, and was really moved. The support and love has been overwhelming and for this, we thank you. We know you'll be thinking of us tomorrow.

Opposite of celebration

My last post, written on June 30, was written in celebration. It's amazing how quickly life can take us from celebration to its exact opposite.

June 30 was my parent's 44th wedding anniversary.  After a long day at work, my parents went out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary then returned home to tackle some work around the yard.  My Dad rototilled his beloved garden, walked to the front drive and collapsed with a massive heart attack. Thankfully, a B&B guest was right there to administer CPR, and more help arrived quickly. The right chain of events in the right time frame got my Dad from the small, rural town where my parents live to University Hospital in Saskatoon, alive. 

I realize now that June 30 was the night that he was very nearly, no longer with us. Being far away, such harsh realities are easy to downplay but this does not make them any less true. All I can say is that we are very, very thankful. A little shaken and in shock, but very, very thankful.

The next step will be triple bypass surgery (if the surgeons find what they think they will find) on Wednesday, July 6. I am flying to Saskatoon on Monday to be my parents for the next few weeks.   If you could hold my immediate family- my Dad and Mom, Lyndon and Jennifer, and Jeff and I-  very tight in your thoughts and prayers, we would appreciate it very much. I will return here to post updates as they are available.

I am amazed that during times of crisis and loss, we humans immediately throw away all of the "stuff" we work so hard to accumulate and cling to what matters- the people we love. I say 'amazed' because one really would think by now, we would have learned this lesson and not need tragedies to shock us back into seeing what is most important. Today as I celebrate my 37th birthday, gifts really do seem so very unimportant. All I really want is for my Dad to be all right. 

My first beauty parlour customer ~age 2, 1976